The E.R.A. thread

There doesn’t seem to be as much ERA stuff on TNF as I imagined there might be. I’ve had a few goes at searching but not found a great deal.

Who remembers Jasper Carrot going on about the changes that happen to chap when he passes the age of 40? Ambling down the local high street he finds himself looking at the clothes on display in the shop window of…….Dunns! I think something similar happens when, as a motor sport enthusiast, you pass 50. You become less interested in current F1 and start going to spectate at VSCC events. And what do you begin to find interesting?….ERAs! It’s happened to me: after spending a lifetime admiring delicate, lightweight tiny racing cars, I find myself enjoying these rather agricultural pre-war devices. (How on earth did anyone ever think that ground clearance suitable for off-road use was a Good Idea for a racing car, even in 1935?)

What really did it was when I arrived at Donington a couple of years ago to find several of the beasts being warmed up with the rear axle on stands, wheels whizzing round behind wire mesh fireguards. The noise, the smell. Whining supercharger, tearing calico, methanol, Castrol R and all that. Mechanic grinning happily as he commands the performance. I was converted. Then out on the track these precarious but apparently bomb proof devices and their intrepid pilots put on a display that that brings joy to this pair of traction control sullied eyes.

I’ve not managed (yet) to get my hands on what seems to be the bible on ERAs…by David Weguelin. So I wonder if you folk might care to help with my education. I have here the October 1976 copy of Motor Sport. There is a Jenks article entitled “The ERA Affair”..prompted by a letter from David Gandhi. He is on about Romulus, the only ERA not to have a long succession of owners and drivers. There seems to have been some sort of furore going on about the fact that it was restored and brought to the light of day.

What was all the fuss about? And can we have some ERA rambling, please.

Romulus (R1B) was famous because it was only driven by one man (Bira) throughout its career. To quote Wegeulin:

"The White Mouse Team was disbanded at the end of 1948. Prince Chula gave Bira all the cars on condition that he could keep Romulus. Romulus ws taken to Prince Chula's house, Tredethy, near Bodmin, Cornwall, and put in a private museum.

"Following Prince Chula's death in December 1964, his widow, Priincess Chula, was persuaded to allow Romulus to be loaned to hte Montagu Motor museum where he formed part of the Prince Chula Memorial Pit (which was a representation of a Brooklands pit, and had Prince Chula's lap charts etc) The Memorial was officially opened on 25 Aprl 1965, at a special ceremony held at Beaulieu, where nine ERAs appeared. When the original montagu Motor museum became the National Motor Museum the Memorial Pit was dismantled and romulus was placed in a display of racing cars. Princess Chula became aware of his deteriorating appearance and had arranged that he should be rebuilt by WRG Morris. However, before this was accomplished Princess Chula died (November 1971) leaving Romulus to her only child, Narisa. In January 1975, Narisa arranged for Romulus to be removed from the National motor Museum and taken to WRG (Bill) Morris' Oxfordshire workshop, where he was stripped down completely, and rebuilt to racing condition. His first racing appearance was the first VSCC meeting of 1976. To commemorate his return to competition after 28 years, a unique exhibition of the 'White Mouse Collection' of cups, trophies and photography was arranged in a special display marquee in the paddock. Almost £300 was raised for Cancer research."

At the time many people, including Denis Jenkinson and David Gandhi, felt that romulus was soecial and should be allowed to remain unraced.

I always enjoy watching ERAs race at VSCC events - they are surely among the most charismatic of racing cars.

It is also interesting that there are so many different variations on the original design still around.

There are cars like R1A and R3A which are pretty much as originally built, and then slightly modified cars such as R4A and R5B. You then get to the real "specials" - R11B and R4D.

Although all of the cars are kept in top racing condition, different owners seem to favour different states of finish. When you look at R14B, you can tell that it is a hard raced yet well kept machine. Then you look at others which seem to get shinier and shinier as the years go by!

I think I prefer the "well used" look but at least all the cars are genuinely enjoyed.

I hope R5B "Remus" comes back onto the track this season after missing 2002.

If you are interested David, there is an ERA Club available to join which publishes a newsletter every once in a while. I joined a few months back and haven't seen a copy yet, so I am not sure how often it comes out. The secretary is Guy Spollon of the VSCC.

What is the new axe with new handle situation with ERAs? I am more familiar with certain late 50s racing cars, where the chassis has been long replaced with a better made, more sensibly gauged replica, the bodywork is all new, and the FPF Climax can be replaced by a new one from C & G.

What happens with ERAs? I have heard that Cosworth can provide pistons, but what of other parts such as head & block castings, & Roots or Zoller superchargers? How much of the Wilson box gets replicated? Do unpranged chassis remain original? Questions, questions....

No thought of getting an ERA, but he'd loved the sight of Whitehead's... he started with a 1926 Ballot chassis, got an unused engine that had been bought as a spare for a 1936 Oldsmobile taxi and went on from there...

just thought i'd add my bit on era's...i've nosed around r2a a bit as it is owned by a friend of mine....but i thought i'd give you my perception of the car on the track....i ran my t35b against it at monterey in 2000 with mark gillies driving...well,first of all, these buggers are FAST!!! however as i observed, they are quite light[at least compared to a bug]..while the engine does supply ample power[and then some],it must be seen in conjunction with HUGE brakes and a pre-selector gearbox..so the driving technique is to accelerate on the straights like the hammers of hell and brake very late....as far as corners go the trick seems to keep it on the track till the next straight and squirt and brake at the next corner...and with the wilson one can change up or down before i could even find the gear lever on the bug....it also helps to have fairly oversize tires[ sanctioning bodies may be changing back to period sizes] to provide traction for squirt and brake....my observations on short sweepers was that not all 4 tires were on the ground at the same time...as far as the tire spinning ritual i believe this is to warm up the pre-selector gearbox so the bands will grab evenly...for myself i actually prefer the talbot lago warming up on the jacks as the tires are sooo huge in the rear compared to the low body line and the sound ain't that bad.

Originally posted by dbw just thought i'd add my bit on era's...i've nosed around r2a a bit as it is owned by a friend of mine....but i thought i'd give you my perception of the car on the track....i ran my t35b against it at monterey in 2000 with mark gillies driving...well,first of all, these buggers are FAST!!! however as i observed, they are quite light[at least compared to a bug]..while the engine does supply ample power[and then some],it must be seen in conjunction with HUGE brakes and a pre-selector gearbox..so the driving technique is to accelerate on the straights like the hammers of hell and brake very late....as far as corners go the trick seems to keep it on the track till the next straight and squirt and brake at the next corner...and with the wilson one can change up or down before i could even find the gear lever on the bug....it also helps to have fairly oversize tires[ sanctioning bodies may be changing back to period sizes] to provide traction for squirt and brake....my observations on short sweepers was that not all 4 tires were on the ground at the same time...as far as the tire spinning ritual i believe this is to warm up the pre-selector gearbox so the bands will grab evenly...for myself i actually prefer the talbot lago warming up on the jacks as the tires are sooo huge in the rear compared to the low body line and the sound ain't that bad.

A bit of a footnote to this E.R.A. thread - Romulus was originally extricated from Beaulieu because Narisa Levy was involved with a commemoration event in Thailand (Siam) to celebrate the 1939 Bangkok Grand Prix which never took place because of the outbreak of hostilities. Romulus was to be the focus of the event and hence it was prepared to go racing once more. Under Bill Morris' tutilage Narisa obtained a competition licence in the UK but once in Thailand felt that she could not do the car full justice in a race situation, so restricted herself to demonstrations and contributed greatly to the organisation of the event which was much enjoyed by the VSCC element who went out from the UK, including R5B (Ludovic Lindsay), R12B (Bill Morris) and the ERA=Delage, then owned by Anthony Mayman. The race was won by Rodney Felton's P3 Alfa. There is an excellent video produced of the event -"Romulus returns to Siam", produced by Duke video. If E.R.A.s are your interest, well worth a look.

Originally posted by Alan Cox There is an excellent video produced of the event -"Romulus returns to Siam", produced by Duke video. If E.R.A.s are your interest, well worth a look.

Thanks Alan...actually I bought that video last weekend at the Donington Museum. I also bought recently, on EBay, another ERA video just called E.R.A History. It's from Sports Seen...has lots of old Shelsley Walsh footage. It centers on the fiftieth birthay celebrations at Silverstone a few years back. Includes a nice interview with Jenks by a lady in a very silly frock.

Last I heard over here in Bira-Land, Remus was up for grabs and attempts were afoot to secure a Thai buyer and bring the beast to Siam. Not sure what the state of play is right now.
I've got a Thai mate who buys luxury cars, and he says that the import duty for mere Ferraris is sky-gantic, for a vehicle with Remus' history, you'd be talkin' King Bhumipol's ransom. Then there'd be kick-backs ...

Personally, I've mixed feelings about it. Few Thais know that they have any history in motor-racing, let alone a Royal triple BRDC Gold Star winner, so it'd be nice for them to learn about it. But since the vehicle's racing was done in Blighty and Europe, to me that is where it really 'belongs'. Certainly NOT in Aggghhh America. They'd probably put whitewall tyres on it. What do you think?

Any clangers in the following?

There were only 13 'B' type ERA's built and Bira raced R2B, which was called Romulus, R5B called Remus, and R12B called Hannuman.

Other famous owners of the 13 ERA’s included Dick Seaman, Earl Howe, Raymond Mays and Peter Whitehead.

After being sold by the Siamese Princes, Remus was driven by other famous drivers including Tony Rolt, Bill Moss (Hamish's Dad?), and even Jim Clark. Remus was bought by the Rt. Hon. Patrick Lindsay, who has kept it in pristine condition.

Remus is also famous for being probably the most raced single seater GP car of all time. In 54 seasons of racing it has had 379 starts, 108 victories and 214 podium finishes.

Originally posted by Anorak Man ....Any clangers in the following?....After being sold by the Siamese Princes, Remus was driven by other famous drivers including Tony Rolt, Bill Moss (Hamish's Dad?) , and even Jim Clark. Remus was bought by the Rt. Hon. Patrick Lindsay, who has kept it in pristine condition.....

I came across this when looking for something else and felt that we should keep the record straight. Stirling's father was Alfred. Bill Moss is (was) no relation.

Incidentally, his mother Aileen (nee Crauford) was Scottish. I believe it was she who suggested naming him Hamish.

Like David (B) I have always wondered how the ERA could have been built so high, given the Delages and Talbots of the late 1920s. I know that they go jolly well etc., but they always look as though they might fall over!

And apart from a mention in connexion with ownership of R4D, no RM/PB stories - and in an ERA thread too!

If you are interested in ERAs, have you considered joining the ERA Club run by Guy Spollon (son of Bruce, owner of R8C)?

The only alterations I would make to your list are: -

R1B is now owned by an American (although I can't remember his name)
R12C is still owned by Bill Morris (I think!)
AJM1 is owned by Peter Mann and raced for him by John Ure
GP2 was owned by Gordon Chapman who rebuilt it, but IIRC it is now with his daughters

R1A - I suspect actual owner might be Jerry Morici
R1B - Sally Marsh sold this to the US, but I think it was resold almost immediately to Germany. Haven't heard the owner's name
R9B - back with Peter Mann and driven by John Ure
AJM1 - Rainer Ott
GP2 - Lucy and Narisa Chapman

Derek Lawson, in his book "Rain, Rain…..and Even Snow" about Oulton Park, seems to suugest that there were more ERAs than listed. When an ERA crops up, he always says something like : Lindsay, driving an ERA R5B

My father used to tell a story of a bloke he befriended in a prisoner of war camp in WW2 (see http://www.dabgp.pwp....uk/powpage.htm) , who reckoned he had something to do with an ERA before the war. He answered to the name of Spider Jones, and came from Leicester. I don't suppose I shall ever figure which car this was....

Originally posted by David Beard My father used to tell a story of a bloke he befriended in a prisoner of war camp in WW2, who reckoned he had something to do with an ERA before the war. He answered to the name of Spider Jones, and came from Leicester. I don't suppose I shall ever figure which car this was....

Is that very recently that R9B came back to Peter Mann? He had had the car for many years prior to this season. Peter had a joint arrangement some years ago as Anglo Swiss Racing with Jost Wildboltz with what is now Jost's blue car, the one with the lower bonnet line, around the time he bought the F2 Frazer Nash

The short answer is yes
I was never quite sure what the arrangement was between Mann and Wildbolz, but there was a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing of cars between them
•1992/93 - Wilbolz sells R1A, which he has been racing for ten years, and takes over R9B from Mann, who has owned it since 1976
•1994 - Mann buys AJM1 as a replacement
•1996 - Mann buys R4A (the sloping-nosed one)
•1998/2000 - Mann sells AJM1, swaps R4A with Wildbolz for R9B
I think that's it

If you are interested David, there is an ERA Club available to join which publishes a newsletter every once in a while. I joined a few months back and haven't seen a copy yet, so I am not sure how often it comes out. The secretary is Guy Spollon of the VSCC. [/B][/QUOTE]

I know, that tread is from quite a time ago - but would anybody out there have please some more infos about the ERA club ( contact address, membership fee ).

Originally posted by David Beard ...you pass 50. You become less interested in current F1 and start going to spectate at VSCC events. And what do you begin to find interesting?….ERAs! It’s happened to me: after spending a lifetime admiring delicate, lightweight tiny racing cars, I find myself enjoying these rather agricultural pre-war devices. (How on earth did anyone ever think that ground clearance suitable for off-road use was a Good Idea for a racing car, even in 1935?)

In the Batsford Book of racing cars is a nice photo of Gerard in 51 , his ERA a Lotus halfton green(bit lighter) and the wire wheels looks bright yellow or gold. He wears a crash helmet in the same freen o his light khaki jacket and sunglasses .Oh sorry that was only one car , am I disqualified?

A small footnote to the ERA story. R7B, the Arthur Dobson car, was bought in 1955 by Ron Linley for £300 including a load of spares. Ron, who was in the motor trade, was in Bournemouth to sell a Rolls Royce, and heard of the ERA for sale in Poole. He raced and hillclimbed the car that year, but it was pretty clapped out and he had endless problems with the gearbox and supercharger drive.
Ron was a stalwart spectator at Shelsley, and kept us all amused with humourous reminiscences. Very sadly he died on February 14th aged 85.
Chris

I think you will find the car raced by David Murray was an A type, R1A, but I believe David Hampshire was the actual owner, Thanks to David Murray was later bought by two Scots,Ron Flockhart and Alastair Birrell and they raced it together for a short time before Flockhart bought R4D and Birrell continued with R1A.

Originally posted by Barry Boor These five drivers regularly drove B-type E.R.As in 1950:

Harrison GerardShawe-TaylorWhiteheadMurray

Can anyone put definitive colours to these five cars when these gentlemen were driving them, please?

From Peter Hull's "Racing an Historic Car" we have:

Harrison drove R8B with a modified radiator cowl painted a dark colour.Gerard drove R14B in races painted in his own distinctive shade of green and also R4A which sprinted and hillclimbed with a 2-litre engine he also fitted with a sloping radiator and shared the car with his wife.Brian Shawe-Taylor drove both R9B (I think in 1950) and later R8BPeter Whitehad owned R10B from new, painted black I believe, and shared it with Peter Walker - both drove it in hillclimbs post warDavid Murray owned R12B (Hanuman II) before passing it on to Somervail of the Border Reivers

R8B was originally owned I believe by Earl Howe, and was fitted with a very nice 'streamlined' body by CuthHarrison or Reg Parnell and was raced By Brian Shawe-Taylor, before passing to Graham Whitehead. Later it went to John Brown(?) who raced it in VSCC events for many years. Unfortunately some later owner restored the original Old English Perpendicular body work which is a great shame as this was my first love and I still think of it as the archetypal 'racing car'.

Originally posted by Bauble Later it went to John Brown(?) who raced it in VSCC events for many years. Unfortunately some later owner restored the original Old English Perpendicular body work which is a great shame as this was my first love and I still think of it as the archetypal 'racing car'

Bertie Brown raced it in the 1960s. It's been back in its correct original shape since the '70s

Great picture, Alan! Martin Stretton adopting the classic 500 F3 pose leaning out of the car while winding on the opposite lock .... just having a little more power to play with ERAs are one of the great pleasures of the historic scene over the past few decades - their owners seem (mostly) to be willing to drive them hard and even entrust them to hotshoes like Wizzo to do so on their behalf.

Ref The Romulus and Remus ERA racing cars,I have a super book written in 1936 by Prince Chula of Siam covering all the races in 1936 when prince Birabongse (Bira) raced Romulus.
If you go to page 11 of this forum and look at the Prince Bira thread, I have posted a picture from the book, of Prince Bira beating Raymond Mays in the Zoller blown ERA ,in Romulus by one second.
As a matter of interest, in that race the 1936 International Trophy at Brooklands, there were EIGHT cars on the front row of the grid, and Forty Two in the race
Regards from france,
Les Dalton.

As I have a question about an ERA driver I thought I'd bump this thread - if only for the magnificent photos.

I have come across a driver of an ERA that I'd never heard of before - E. Miles-Martin.

He drove an ERA in the Gamston Challenge Race (and won) as part of the Sheffield Hallamshire MC meeting on 14 May 1951 beating Geoff Richardson in the RRA. Does any one know anything about him and can anyone confirm which ERA he drove (possibly R1B when owned by Cuth Harrison?)